Blake Lively's legal team says "claims of sexual harassment and retaliation" are "serious" and not a "he said/she said"

In the latest developments in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle, the actress' attorneys have remarked that Lively's "claims of sexual harassment and retaliation" are not a "he said/she said" situation. The legal team also condemned Baldoni's complaints against Lively.

In a statement to PEOPLE dated January 6, Blake Lively's legal team described Justin Baldoni's allegations against their client as "more attacks." The statement reiterated that Lively's allegations are "serious," and they intend to defend them in court.

"This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation. As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set," they said.

"And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing. Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry," the statement added.

Lively's legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, began after the actress filed a complaint against him on December 20 with the California Civil Rights Department. In her complaint, Lively accused Wayfarer Studios and Baldoni of alleged s*xual harassment and indulging in a smear campaign to tarnish her reputation.

On December 31, Justin Baldoni and nine others from the film's team retaliated with a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times. Baldoni's lawsuit pertained to a December 21 article published in the Times based on Lively's yet unproven allegations in her complaint.

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Blake Lively's attorneys claim "media statements" are not a defense to the actress's legal complaints

"It Ends With Us" UK Gala Screening - VIP Arrivals (Image via Getty)

In their January 6 statement to PEOPLE, Blake Lively's legal team indicated that media statements cannot serve as a defense to the actress's valid legal complaints. The statement also referred to various tactics used to "distract from allegations" pertaining to s*xual harassment.

“A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to ‘blame the victim’ by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied. Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender and suggest that the offender is actually the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct.

“Most importantly, media statements are not a defense to Ms. Lively’s legal claims. We will continue to prosecute her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats."

In her original complaint, Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of inappropriate workplace behavior, s*xual harassment, and orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign to tarnish her reputation. Lively claimed Baldoni tarnished her name because she tried to protect herself and spoke up against the alleged inappropriate workplace environment on the sets of It Ends With Us.

Lively's complaints include Baldoni allegedly entering her vanity van “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable” and breastfeeding. She also claimed to have been objectified by the director, who allegedly “suddenly” pressured her to “simulate full nudity” during a birth scene.

The actress also alleged that Justin Baldoni “improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with Ms. Lively, with no intimacy coordinator involved." However, Baldoni attempted to counter all of her claims in his $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times.

In Baldoni's lawsuit, he claimed that The Times “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead." This was about their December 21 article based on Lively's complaints, titled ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. It is worth noting that Baldoni did not mention Blake Lively as a defendant in the lawsuit.

However, Baldoni alleged that it was Blake Lively who indulged in a "strategic and manipulative" smear campaign against Baldoni and other crew members of It Ends With Us. The lawsuit also accused Lively of making "false s*xual harassment allegations to assert unilateral control over every aspect of the production."

In a January 2 statement, Blake Lively's legal team claimed that "nothing" Baldoni claimed in his lawsuit "changes anything about the claims advanced in" the actress' initial complaint. They also mentioned that they "encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety" before taking their stance.

In a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, claimed the team wants to countersue Lively. He added that he is willing to publicly disclose all text messages pertaining to the case so that they can "determine the truth for themselves."

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle is ongoing, with further developments yet to come.